Mechanical gyroscopes employ a spin motor to maintain gyroscope rotation. Such motors may be electrically powered and in some cases preferably operate off of a direct current (DC) power source. Such DC motors typically employ three magnetic poles which are commutated in order to achieve rotation. The gyroscope is caused to precess about one or more gimbal axes by torquer or precessor motors. In the case of a vertical gyroscope, the torquer motors may be controlled by electrolytic transducers or sensor switches which sense a level positions of the gyroscope. The electrolytic transducers function reliably on alternating current (AC), but they will not function at all when operated with direct current because their liquid will electrolyze. It is therefore mandatory, primarily because of this nature of the electrolytic switches, to operate the torquer motors with alternating current. This invention is directed to a particular method of obtaining alternating current from the direct current motor without the use of a separate inverter.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a simplified direct current gyroscope, in which alternating current may be derived from a direct current spin motor in order to operate an alternating current torquer system. It is a further object to provide a low cost and reliable system for inverting direct current from a commutated load in order to provide alternating current.